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Perestroika has already awakened our people. They've changed. We have a different society now. We will never slip backward. There's still a question of whether the process will go slower or faster, whether it will be more or less painful. But we will certainly keep moving ahead. There might be certain zigzags along the way. That's unavoidable when a country is undergoing major changes. But the fact remains that this change, perestroika, is a fitting conclusion to the 20th century. It is an event that has engaged not only the Soviet people but people throughout the world, including those from societies quite different from ours.
From a strategic standpoint, I'm pleased with what we have accomplished. We've given a powerful impetus to the process of new political thinking both within the Soviet Union and around the world. Of course there are a lot of problems that are cause for concern. In domestic affairs, we're troubled by socioeconomic tensions that can be exploited by both the extreme left and the extreme right. People with their own agendas and ambitions are trying to mislead our society.
In foreign policy, our biggest concern is with some politicians who still think about international relations mostly with respect to their own terms of office and electoral ambitions at a time when we are trying to lay the foundations for a new international community. Such politicians look for partners who have the same incorrect approach. If people don't understand what's most important, then there can be no genuine international cooperation.
Q. You say there is a danger of these concerns' being exploited both from the right and from the left. Which is the greater danger?
A. The biggest danger would be a split among the supporters of perestroika. We've got to solidify the main trend. We understand those whom we call healthy conservatives, who support a commonsense approach. We have to take into account their doubts and concerns. We invite their cooperation. On the left too there are people who are worried that perestroika is not moving fast enough. Their hopes and concerns are quite normal, and we must take account of them. What is very dangerous is extremism. I'm thinking of the people I call the crazies. These are the ones who pretend to be populists but who don't really represent the people's interests at all.
Q. You used the chilling phrase civil war when you were recently on a visit to the Urals. In what sense does this danger exist, and how can it be averted?